Libous: De Blasio wants to run all of NY

Sen. Thomas Libous, the number two Republican in the state Senate, warned today that a Democratic-led Senate would hurt upstate New York and give New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio broad power over the entire state.

Libous said a potential Democratic control of the Senate is something that Republicans will use in its campaigns this year, reminding voters of the troubled two-year tenure when Democrats held the majority.

The 2009-10 Senate was marred by infighting, scandals and a coup that stalled the Senate for a month in June 2009. Republicans said the Democrats' tenure led to higher taxes and new regulations -- all of it came during one of the most difficult fiscal stretches the state faced because of the recession.

De Blasio is aligned with the Working Families Party, which has fought for higher taxes on the rich, public financing of political campaigns and a higher minimum wage.

"It’s something we are going to have to fight this November," Libous continued. "We’re going to have to come back with 32 seats. We’re going to have to convince the people of upstate New York, the Hudson Valley and even Long Island that if the Democrats take over as they as they did in 2009 and 2010, they taxed everything."

Republicans would need to win one seat and keep all its seats, including two open ones on Long Island and one in the Hudson Valley.

Libous said he expects Sen. Simcha Felder, D-Brooklyn, to continue to sit with Republicans in January.